1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of automatic telephone answering apparatus and, more particularly, to an automatic telephone answering and message recording apparatus provided with a remote control mechanism controlled by a remote control operation through a telephone line to reproduce messages left by calling subscribers and recorded on a tape in the apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During the period when messages left by calling subscribers are being reproduced by a remote control operation through a telephone line, the apparatus must be kept in a busy condition. To maintain this "busy" condition, there is a well-known method wherein the apparatus is reset to a non-busy condition when the previously recorded remote control signal is reproduced upon playback of the recorded messages. In such a method, the remote control signal from the calling owner of the apparatus is recorded, and at the same time it is detected by a remote control signal detector, and then several seconds (approximately 5 seconds) later, the magnetic tape is rewound. After the rewinding operation is finished, the reproducting operaton begins automatically to send the messages left by calling subscribers to the apparatus' owner who initiated the playback operation by sending the remote control signal over the telephone line. When the remote control signal is reproduced after the reproduction of the recorded messages, the apparatus stops and returns to its stand-by or non-busy condition. Therefore, following incoming messages from calling subscribers are recorded on the message tape after the remote control signal. Accordingly, although the messages recorded over the tape range from its initaial position up to the remote control signal are always reproduceable, the messages recorded later than the once-reproduced portion; i.e., after the remote control signal cannot be reproduced by a remote control operation, since the apparatus will again be reset to its initial position as soon as it detects the previously recorded remote control signal. Therefore, succeeding remote control operations can be used only for playing back the same tape portion reproduced for the first playback operation. In addition, second or later remote control operations may result in the erasure of messages recorded later than the remote control signal recorded at the time of the first remote control operation, because those messages are continually replaced by new messages left by other subscribers.
There is an improved prior art apparatus in which the tape portion carrying the recorded remote control signal is automatically rewound when the remote control signal is reproduced after the reproduction of the messages to be heard by the calling owner, and the recording of a new incoming message from a calling subscriber is begun at the rewound position. In other words, the erasure of the remote control signal will permit the owner of the apparatus to listen to all subsequently recorded incoming messages from calling subscribers in the second and later remote control operations. In such apparatus, however, the tape portion where a remote control signal is recorded must be rewound immediately after the reproduction thereof, and, consequently, some additional means must be provided, thereby making the entire construction of the apparatus large and complex. Furthermore, means must be provided for recognizing the remote control signal in the midst of a reproducing operation. Such a means must discriminate between the remote control signal and other voice signals, and is complex and expensive, and may be a cause of erroneous operation of the apparatus.